Adventure on the Ocmulgee
Deer season has come to an end and my wife is happy her life can have some sort of normalcy again, at least for a little while. During this little lull before turkey season is when she and my mother-in-law break out their honey do list or the son-in-law do list they have been compiling for the last three months. Boy, things sure pile up while we are having fun, don't they. I am slowly getting started on the list, and I remember I have a little get away with the men from Crossheirs down on the Ocmulgee River planned. As I was getting ready for our trip, I got a call from one of the guys telling me to bring my duck hunting gear so we can squeeze in a quick duck hunt the next morning. Grabbing gear I went. Gun, waders, shells, coat, gloves, calls, and everything else I needed for the hunt. I didn't know the game plan to hunt the next day so I packed everything. Loaded up in my buddy's car and off we went.
When we got to the cabin it was after dark and very cold. We could see the lake right behind the cabin and the wind coming off the lake was cutting through everything I had on. The temperature was twenty-four degrees and expected to drop into the teens later that night. I started to wonder if I was crazy for even thinking about hunting in weather that cold. I was having serious questions about our sanity for even thinking about getting out on the river. Being from South Georgia we don't get many sub freezing days even during the middle of winter. Other places up north don't see many days above freezing during winter. So a morning in the teens on a cold river just might make this southern boy go into hibernation and stay in the bed the next morning. I was having some doubts about going the next morning until my scouting party returned with the news.
After the usual greeting, a handshake and a how ya doing, they proceeded to tell me about all the ducks they had seen. It started off almost like a tall tale. I have come to know people around here over the past several years and I also know hunters and their exaggerations. And any thing I hear that starts off "Tribble you aint gonna believe this" I usually don't. But in this case I will make an exception, because these guys have never lied to me before and I really don't expect them to start. They told me that had seen three to four hundred ducks flying into this one area. I almost started drooling on myself as they continued with their story. I listened as they told how the duck just kept coming and kept coming in to roost right behind them in a backwater run in the river. Forget the cold, I'm going hunting. I would just have to tough it out, because I wasn't about to let a little thing like cold weather keep me from seeing that many ducks.
We ate supper and had our meeting about what CrossHeirs is going to do this year and what events we are going to have and any changes we needed to make. We finished up around one o'clock in the morning and tried to go to sleep, but the four cups of coffee and the anticipation of the morning hunt kept me awake for most of the night. It seemed like only minutes had gone by, when I had finally fallen asleep and the alarm clock was going off. Jumping out of bed grabbing my thermal underwear, I am still questioning my sanity about doing this. We finish getting ready, grab a quick breakfast of powdered doughnuts and coffee, and out the door we go.
We drive a few short miles to the river and launch the boat. The ride up the river didn't seem to take very long. Maybe because I was lying down in the front floor of the boat trying to stay out of the wind. We stopped to put out the decoys and get into position. By the time we got set up it was about time for the ducks to start flying. A few minuets later they started. We did actually see hundreds of ducks, but they didn't come to our set up. A few unlucky ones did but the majority did not. They had another destination on their mind. We could see them going down in another part of the river about a hundred yards farther up river from us. So as we are gathering up our decoys, Jack, the guy that owned the boat, said we passed by Montgomery Lake on the way here would you guys like to go and see it. Would we like to see the holy grail of bass fishing? What kind of question is that? Of course we would. I was just as excited to see that, as I was to go duck hunting. We headed down river and took a hard turn straight toward the line of trees bordering the river. Up into the tree line we went, and as he eased back on the throttle he said here it is. I looked at him and said where. He said you're in it. He proceeded to take us over to a sign commemorating the event that made Montgomery Lake so famous. World record bass caught by George Perry of McRae Ga. Montgomery Lake wasn't at all what I had built it up in my mind to be. Surrounded by trees it was just a small ox bow off the Ocmulgee River. I could have sat in the middle of the lake, took a Zebco 33 in each hand threw out on each side of the boat and hit the bank. When I think of a lake I think maybe Lake Sinclair or even Hugh Gills PFA in Laurens County. I have fished in ponds in my Granddaddy's back yard bigger than Montgomery Lake.
When Mr. Perry set out on that day he wasn't planning on catching the world record bass, he was going to catch supper. He loaded his rod and reel with 24 lbs. test and a creek chub fan tail shiner. He had no idea he was about to make bass fishing history with a single cast, and change his life forever. God has His plans we have ours. As Christians are we ready for God to change our lives and let us catch the Big One. Are we ready to go fishing for him? Even though Mr. Perry wasn't planning to catch a monster bass, he was sure prepared with his 24-pound test line. As Christians we should be prepared for the Big One, that moment in time when God will bless us with that once in a life time catch that will put some one else in the most important record book. God's Book of Life.
The Hunting Adventure is from Mark Tribble,Jack Walk 3rd,Danny Loyd 
